Jealousy
by demigod39cluesfan
Summary: Dan is jealous of Natalie's new boyfriend. He denies it, but tests out his sneaking skills anyway. Will he confess his new feelings? Or let his jealousy burn inside? For Phantomhive Cahill's Jealous Much? Contest. One-shot.


**Yes, I should be updating other stories. Yes, this is a cliché idea. No, I will not stop writing this story.**

**This is for Phantomhive Cahill's 'Jealous Much?' Contest. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own 39 Clues. If I did, Dan and Natalie would have been together. And Day of Doom would be completely rewritten.**

_**Jealousy**_

Dan Cahill sat in his room, thinking. I know what you're imagining.

Dan doesn't usually think.

And his room wasn't exactly a 'room.' He preferred to call it the Dan-Cave or the Ninja Center.

The room was littered with discarded trash and comics. Clothes that were deemed un-wearable were strewn along the carpet (Mostly what Amy or Nellie bought him). All in all, it was an inescapable pit of garbage.

And yet, he was immune to his little cave/pit/darkness/mess. It was a ninja thing.

Anyway, back to what he was thinking about. A certain snake. Well, a Cobra. Not the cool, slimy ones with the hood and fangs. A girl. _Heaven forbid when Dan Cahill would think about a girl. Yuck. _He thought.

But he couldn't stop thinking about her. The way her hair fell in shiny waves…. What? Ewewewewewewewewwwww!

Dan, 16 year old Ninja Lord, does not like girls. Much less _think _about them. Much, much less Natalie Cobra. Gross.

She confused him. During the Clue Hunt, she was always the confident-and-shoot-dart-guns-at-you. Now, she seemed like a normal teenager. Even if she still had an air of superiority with everyone and called them "peasant."

Not to mention her British accent. It made her smooth and… AND FUN TO MAKE FUN OF. He tried to change his thought patterns.

Ha ha. Yeah, right. He had to face this. He just may…slightly….tiny piece of himself….might…. like…a Cobra. The thought was so disgusting, he mind threw-up.

That's possible.

Dan decided the best way to treat a mind throw-up was to sneak into the kitchen and steal some Skittles.

_**JealousyJealousyJealousyJealousyJealousyJealousyJe alousyJealousy**_

Dan stuffed countless Skittles into his mouth.

"Woah, Kiddo, don't eat that much at once. You're gonna lose your appetite and have a major sugar-crash." A multi-colored head popped up from behind the kitchen counter.

"You can never eat too many skittles at once." And with that, he tipped the bag over and poured the rest of the bag down his throat. And opened a new pack.

"Jeez, Dan, have you gone crazy?! Chill- out!" Nellie's eyes widened.

"Chill-out? About what?" Hamilton Holt walked into the spacious kitchen. Then recognition dawned on his face. "Dude! D-man! How many skittles are you _drinking?"_

"As many as it takes." _To get Natalie out of my head._

"I'm betting he'll last two more packs." Nellie said, leaning on the counter.

Hamilton snorted. "It's _Dan. _Have a little more faith. Four packs!" He declared.

"I can do way more than that!" Dan replied, insulted.

He began to feel a little fuzzy-headed as he downed two bags, four bags, six bags…

By now, everyone in the house had wondered into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. Bets were made between the Cahills (Except Amy and Fiske who were failing at trying to take away all the Skittles).

"Three more packs!" Nellie shouted out, earning a disapproving glance from Fiske.

"According to our hypothesis…" Ned started.

"…He should crash at any time now." Ted finished.

"Jeez! You guys are really creepy when you do that. Five more packs!" Jonah stated.

"Daniel that is so un-describeably _disgusting _and _unhealthy._" Natalie pointed out.

"Ith don care. Ima nintha thord!" (I don't care. I'm a ninja lord!)

Everyone eagerly leaned in, expecting a sugar-crash. Dan was visibly shaking from all the sugar. He raised the last bag to his lips, closed his eyes… and poured them in. He chewed, taking his time.

His eyelids closed, and, just before becoming unconscious, pumped his fist in the air. Then he was out cold.

"And the grand total was 39 bags!" Nellie cheered, raising Dan's limp arm.

What a coincidence.

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Dan woke up, wondering what the heck he was doing drooling on the kitchen counter.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Amy rushed in from the living room.

"Hello?" Amy opened the doorbell.

"Hello. I am Lawrence Demerode. Does Natalie Kabra live here?"

"Y-Yes, she d-does. I-I-I'll get her." Amy practically ran upstairs.

The mystery guy walked inside to stand a respectful distance away from the stairs. Dan's eyes widened.

This guy could have been Ian's double. Not in facial features (His skin was a little lighter), but his build and clothing were close. No wonder Amy ran off. She naturally had that reaction toward cute guys.

The guy could have been going to a business meeting, with a tie and dress shirt. Definitely someone the Kabras would like.

And he asked for Natalie… could this guy… be her boyfriend?

_Even if he were, why would I care? _He thought. Why would he care? It was her life. He shrugged off the unpleasant feeling and leaned his head on the counter. It throbbed from something…

"Lawrence! I've been expecting you." Natalie Kabra came down the stairs, graceful as ever. And looking as proper, with a white dress on. Dan's hands twitched, feeling the need to throw something gross and stain it.

"Well, we'll be off now to go shopping at the mall. Do not expect me to be home before 4 o'clock."

They left, but not before Dan saw Lawrence smile graciously at Natalie. And Natalie smiled back.

It was a nice smile. A _real _smile. Not a I'm-better-than-you smile. A pretty smile.

And seeing that smile directed to someone else made Dan boil. And annoyed. And more than a little curious.

But mostly jealous.

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Dan wouldn't necessarily say that what he was doing was stalking. More like looking out for a family member. Or Cobra recon.

Anyway, that was his excuse for sitting behind the wheel of his car, looking at the pair going into the mall.

And it was why he followed them to (dare he go in?) _Le Pretty Chic. _He felt stupid hiding behind a mannequin with a pink, sparkly dress on it. If any of his gaming buddies found him here…

Speaking of buddies, Natalie and this Lawrence guy were living it up. Natalie was smiling like crazy, and Lawrence was making her laugh. It was sickening. And building the jealous fire in his stomach.

Natalie was currently trying on a new dress, one that fit her, as always, perfectly. It was amber to match her eyes. It was sleeveless and at the waist it billowed out a little to end slightly above her knees. She pretty much looked stunning.

Heat rose to Dan's cheeks when he realized he was staring. Until _Lawrence _stood up and clapped, causing Natalie to smile again.

"Ugh." Dan thought, disgusted with himself and Lawrence.

Dan had to dive into a rack of dresses to escape the gaze of Natalie as she and Lawrence walked out of the shop. And into a movie theater.

"Oh, no…" Dan grimaced, already knowing what was going to be watched. A romance movie. Natalie's favorite. Aw, crud.

Natalie and Lawrence paid for their tickets and went in.

"I'd like one teen ticket to whatever movie my… sister and her _boyfriend _went into."

"She doesn't look like you're sister." The teen at the ticket stand said, suspiciously.

"She's adopted."

"Ah." The guy said. "Because she's way too hot to-"

Dan interrupted him by snatching his ticket out of his hand.

First, he stopped for some skittles. He needed them for the torture to come. Then he went into the theater.

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_What the heck are these people _doing_?! _Dan thought, horrified. It was like they were trying to eat each other's faces!

He had sat two rows behind Natalie and Lawrence, so as to keep an eye on them. But they were just sitting there, actually _watching_ the movie. So boring.

Eventually, Dan's eyes couldn't refuse the pull of an electronic device, so he turned his head up to the movie. And it was _disgusting._

He would just abandon this "mission", but what if they… did something while he was gone?

And so the torture continued. Kiss after kiss, after kiss. Ewewewewewewew!

And then the worst part came: Lawrence put his arm around Natalie. And that did it. Dan was a jumble of feelings. Grossed-out, angry, jealous…

No. Not jealous. He… He didn't care if Natalie had a boyfriend. He was watching out for her because… of Amy! Yeah! Amy loves Ian and Dan is helping Ian by watching a potential threat to Natalie. There was his story. He was helping Amy out because he is the best brother ever.

As soon as the credits came on the screen, Dan excused himself by sprinting toward the exits. Freedom! Where he mind-threw up again.

He couldn't believe he was stuck with those images of that movie forever. Stupid photographic memory.

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Dan was getting pretty depressed. It really seemed like the Lawrence guy and Natalie were really close. Girlfriend/Boyfriend. Together.

Dan sighed. After the movie, he followed the couple to a little café. He felt really creepy sitting behind a giant potted plant.

He gave up. Dan laid his forehead on the table. It's coolness helped his throbbing head. He let out a long sigh.

He heard the faint _scratch_ of a chair being pulled to the side and somebody sitting in it. He looked up, and immediately put his head back down (And may or may not have fallen out of his chair).

"C-Cobra! What are you doing here?" He stammered. _Oh God, now I sound like Amy._

"I think the question is, Daniel, What are _you _doing here?" Natalie shot back, not missing a beat.

"Y'know, just hanging around."

"You don't usually "hang around" at a, I quote, "girly shopping central."

"Why do you care? Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend?" The words slipped out before Dan realized it. He gulped, hoping she wouldn't realize his sudden interest in Lawrence.

"My boyfriend?" Natalie said back slowly, criticizing him in her British accent.

"Yeah, your boyfriend." Dan ventured. "The guy you've been hanging with all day?"

"Have you been spying on us?" Natalie asked incredulously.

"Heck no! I've just been seeing you guys around the mall." Dan lied smoothly.

Natalie looked at his eyes with such intensity, that his eyes widened and looked down. "You are lying."

"What? No I'm not!"

"You broke eye contact. That is one of the signs of lying. Not to mention I'm a Lucian. We were raised to lie without blinking." Natalie replied, victorious.

Dan stuck his tongue out at her.

"So why were you lying about spying on us?" Natalie pressed.

Dan stayed silent.

Natalie smiled. "Daniel, I have 50 kinds of poison in my handbag. One of them targets the mouth area and it can force you to speak. We an do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Is there a third choice?"

Natalie patted her handbag.

"I guess not." Dan sighed. "I spied on you and Lawrence to hone my ninja skills."

"Liar."

"Fine! You got me! I was spying on you guys because… because… I was jealous, Ok?!" Dan spat out, the truth finally released.

Natalie's eyes widened. "What?"

"I refuse to say anymore."

Natalie looked down at her handbag, deciding that Poison No. 13 would be suitable for the task.

Dan looked wary. "Don't use those! I'll tell you!" Natalie looked up.

Dan sighed. "When you were with Lawrence, you smiled. Like, really smiled. And I realized _I _wanted to make you smile like that. And I can't stop thinking about you. But you're with Lawrence, so it doesn't matter." Dan looked down, waiting for a response.

There was no response. Only laughter. "What's so funny?" Dan spat. "I just confessed that I lo- liked you!"

"Lawrence *laughter* isn't my *giggle * boyfriend! He's my half cousin twice removed! I was supposed to show him around today."

Dan blinked. "Oh. I guess I'll just find a hole to go die in." He jumped up from the table and tried to turn away.

Natalie grabbed on to his arm. "Wait! Don't leave."

Dan looked down.

"I like you too. But I can't believe you were so jealous as to follow a "Cobra" around the mall!" She grabbed his hand and started walking.

Dan's joy at Natalie's liking him back was cut short. "I wasn't exactly _jealous._ Just worried."

"Oh, please! If you weren't jealous, I'm not stunning."

"Well, I guess you aren't stunning, because I wasn't jealous!"

And the two lovers walked hand in hand, bickering, down the long hallway of the mall.

Leaving behind a very confused Lawrence.

**That took longer than expected. Oh, well. I hope I get… third place? Or first. First would be good.**

**I hope you guys liked it. I'm not the greatest at the romantic moments.**

**Review, please!**


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